How many people are intent on reducing their substance use - or, surprisingly, even using more? To find out, we headed to Twitter. Check out our analysis of substance abuse related resolutions for 2014.

A journey around the social web to discover the Adderall culture sweeping the nation, especially on college campuses. Not only has this schedule II drug become ubiquitous, but its mind-altering and dangerous nature are being downplayed in an alarming way.

Ross William Ulbricht, known as Dread Pirate Roberts, was arrested on Oct. 2, 2013 and charged with narcotics trafficking, money laundering and computer hacking. This is the story of the rise and fall of the silk road, the online drug marketplace he created.

It’s a dangerous side effect of the social media boom that has given anyone, especially teens, access to the world of hardcore drug abuse. It’s also a world in which the buyer, not the seller, is affected most by the negative consequences.

People often hear in the news that a particular city has become a "capital" for certain activities, and more often than not, it's something that can be viewed as a vice. To shed light on this, we analyzed 451,484 vice-related tweets that came from US cities of over 200,000 residents.

Throughout human evolution, activities that brought a release of dopamine were the ones that also kept us alive or contributed to reproduction, but now addictive drugs have the power to hijack the brain’s natural dopamine balance.

Using mortality data from the Center for Disease Control, this project presents a thorough look at the nature of drug overdose across the US. By looking at what drugs are killing Americans and where they are killing them, this project reveals the epidemic nature of addiction.

From the hallucinogens and barbiturates of the ’60s and ’70s to the cocaine and meth crazes of the ’80s and ’90s, it often seems that illicit substances are as much of a trend as anything else. So what do those trends look like for each generation of Americans?

We looked at six types of drugs, analyzing how often they popped up in the news media. Any time we saw a surge in coverage, we checked it out to see what caused that particular spike. Here’s what we found.

We took a look at Instagram to see which drugs are a part of the social conversation at music festivals. Though not everyone is going to Instagram their drug use at these festivals, we wanted to get a glimpse into which substances and festivals were most popular as well as if specific drugs were favorites at certain events.

A night spent with a beer, a glass of your favorite wine, or a mixed drink might seem like harmless fun, but do you really know how it’s affecting your body? Like all things, alcohol is meant to be enjoyed in moderation, and drinking heavily can take a heavy toll on your body. Find out how chronic drinking can cause long-term damage to your health.

Abuse of opiates, whether prescription painkillers or heroin, can have a serious impact on your health. These substances, along with unsafe injection practices, can affect almost every part of your body, potentially leading to permanent damage.

In 2013 the FBI reported more than 1.5 million drug law violations in the United States. This project maps drug violations in major cities using data on income, race and drug type to visualize the drug landscape.

A journey around the social web to discover the Adderall culture sweeping the nation, especially on college campuses. Not only has this schedule II drug become ubiquitous, but its mind-altering and dangerous nature are being downplayed in an alarming way.

Synthetic stimulants recently gained national attention with bizarre reports of erratic, often dangerous behavior from users. Do these unusual reports spark investigation online from the public? We explored how increases in media coverage influence public curiosity.

Many of today’s illicit drugs were available legally in the United States in the centuries past. We collected 10 vintage pharmaceutical advertisements and updated their claims with current medical knowledge to show the seismic shift the industry has undergone.

Highly addictive pharmaceuticals often find their way into the hands of those without a prescription. We explored the issue of drug theft to better understand its contribution to prescription drug overdoses and addiction.

Professional athletes under enormous pressure often turn to performance enhancing drugs to maintain a competitive edge. This project analyzes data on game suspensions and fines for substance use violations to uncover drug abuse in the NFL and its lasting consequences.

Since the "We the People" petitioning system was launched on Whitehouse.gov in September 2011, more than half a million people have contributed their signatures in support of the legalization or rescheduling of marijuana in the United States. We’ve mapped and analyzed every signature to discover which regions, states, and counties have shown the most support over the last five years.

The effects of meth can impact several crucial organ systems and cause long-term harm to the body, and the sharing of needles sometimes used for the injection of meth presents even greater dangers. Make no mistake: Chronic meth abuse can have a permanent impact on a person’s health, even after quitting.

To understand why the prescription painkiller epidemic keeps getting worse, we surveyed 2,000 people about their experiences with these drugs. Is it a problem of over-prescribing? Can education help mitigate the situation?

Many people struggle with depression around the holidays or during the colder months. The emotional strains felt can lead to abuse of various drugs and alcohol. This article explores the emotional state of individuals during holiday periods.

Is America's party culture to blame for alcohol-related deaths? We searched Instagram for a better understanding of how its users socialize their partying activities to analyze the relationship between substance abuse and partying.

We used data from the DEA to determine where substances like Adderall, GHB, and oxycodone are ending up in the U.S. Use our zip code search to see how these drugs may be effecting your local community.

A few years ago there were over 9,000 meth incidents in the U.S., including seizures of chemicals and glassware, labs, and dumpsites. This article explores just which states in the U.S. have the most meth labs. The results may surprise you.

We analyzed stats from 2015 by the United States Sentencing Commission to look at which states have the highest rates of drug trafficking, which drugs are more prevalent in which areas, what sentences drug crimes carry, and more!

Tramadol, also known as Ultram, is a widely prescribed synthetic pain medication. With the progression of the opioid epidemic, we decided to research this dangerous drug's rise in use and abuse over the past few years. Learn more about why it is abused and how the limitations on prescribed painkillers could lead to an even bigger increase in tramadol abuse.

Your information will be provided to a leading treatment center who is a paid sponsor of DrugAbuse.com and who can help answer your questions about addiction treatment options.

About the DrugAbuse.com Toll-Free Helpline and Directory

Each year, the DrugAbuse.com hotline connects thousands of people with substance abuse treatment programs throughout the U.S. toll-free. Calls are answered by American Addiction Centers (AAC) who have treatment support specialists available 24/7, 365 days a year.

Both our treatment directory and our hotline are offered at no cost to you.

Where Else Can I Find Help?

National Hotlines:

SAMHSA Facility Locator - http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/index.html
1-800-662-HELP (4357) Free and confidential information in English and Spanish for individuals and family members facing substance abuse and mental health issues. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Suicide Prevention Lifeline - http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
1-800-273-TALK (8255) 24-hour, toll-free, confidential suicide prevention hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Your call is routed to the nearest crisis center in the national network of more than 150 crisis centers.

American Association of Poison Control Centers - http://www.aapcc.org/
For a poisoning emergency in the U.S. call 1-800-222-1222 The American Association of Poison Control Centers supports the nation’s 55 poison centers in their efforts to prevent and treat poison exposures. Poison centers offer free, confidential medical advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week